Welcome to Onwardly Mapless. A random gathering of thoughts, observations and reflections.

 

We are Gav and Fiona Parker. Gav from Hull and Fiona originally from Essex.

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In 2020 we were given a campervan. A shock and a joy in equal measure. After a few forays up and down the country, we realised we could happily live in her. So in September 2021 we took to the highways and byways of East Yorkshire. And beyond from time to time. Staying close for work, friends and family. Going further afield when we could.

 

In September 2022 we relocated to the Cotswolds to help a friend with a property and some land she’d inherited. The same friend who gave us the van. Initially for six months but in the end a year, with the property finally selling in September 2023.

 

During this time our faithful van, Willoughby Wendy, started having issues. Which, in spite of Gav’s gallant efforts, proved insurmountable with the undercarriage so shot through with rust that it would cost a small fortune to fix.

 

So we decided to cut our losses, sell her to someone with the skills to put her right, and get a new van. It was sad to see her go - she’d been Home to us and given us so many brilliant memories - but onwardly we go, and a couple of months later we found Ruby. Our current abode.

 

And so far she’s proven steady and sturdy, carrying us comfortably through parts of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. With life on the road having resumed.

 

So this is a travel blog of sorts. A telling of stories and a weaving of wonderings. The seen, the unseen, the funny, the frank, the rough and the random. Notes from a life on, and sometimes off, the road. 

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Gav and Fiona Parker, February 2024